This is the life of an antisocial hermit wannabe, who apparently loves traveling, shopping and seeing the world so much that she decided to put her lifetime ambition of being an antisocial hermit on hold, for now.

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Fashionista's Hotel Review: MyHibiscus Hotels and Resort, Siem Reap

There's a story behind our trip to this hotel. Oh, let me confess, it took us two days to get here. Yes, literally two days.

So here we were, two Malaysians who did not speak a word of Khmer, running around (or at least walking in circles) in Siem Reap (with no heads or tails as to our whereabouts to say the least) with our crisply printed out list of halal food outlets in Siem Reap (downloaded faithfully from Zabihah.com). On our second day in Siem Reap, we decided to ask our tuk-tuk driver (who wasn't very fluent in English and didn't know a word of Malay) to bring us to MyHibiscus. He drove us in circles (literally) and we couldn't find the place. So we decided that enough was enough (after 30 minutes of driving pointlessly from here to nowhere) and took off for Angkor Wat. The very next day, we decided to try again (you can say that we're very determined or strong-willed but either way it's who we are).

After another 30 minutes of driving in circles (but this time our driver was more determined than we are to getting us here), we've finally arrived!

And just in case your driver is kinda like ours, show him this photo, I'm sure he'll understand Khmer =). Or alternatively, you can tell him that it's located at Taneuy Street, Wat Bo Village, Sangkat Salakamreuk.

The view of the hotel from the road. By the way, the hotel is only about 5 - 10 minutes ride away from the town center, but it's just that maybe the directions in Zabihah are not that clear, that's why our driver couldn't find the right street to turn into.

The hotel lobby.

And reception area.

Maybe one of the reasons why our tuk-tuk driver couldn't find the place is because the hotel is formerly known as Angkor Monarch. There's the website address of the hotel or alternatively, you can also click [here].

The hotel complex.

And here's the restaurant, located at the first floor, right on top of the lobby.

We were fortunate enough to have met the manager, Mrs Sally. She was kind enough to share with us a little bit of information on the hotel. The hotel is owned by Malaysians (thus the name hibiscus, a direct reference to Malaysia's national flower). Even Mrs Sally herself is a fellow Malaysian. The hotel aims to position itself as the hotel of choice for Muslim travelers. The hotel offers halal food at their restaurant and should you need the services of a tuk-tuk driver, they'll also recommend you a Muslim tuk-tuk driver (who would be handy to bring you to all the halal food outlets in town, right?).

And this is what we had, fried rice topped with fried egg sunny side up adorned with slices of tomatoes and sausages and a dish of stir fried kangkong for lunch. It does not look like much but I assure you, it was absolutely delicious!

And this is hubs with the hotel's marketing exec.

Here's hubs with one of the hotel's directors.

Managed a shot with some of the Muslim crew =).

A view of the hotel compound.

Basically there are several types of rooms available (tailored to different traveler's needs):

The usual double bed for the couple traveler (like us!).

Twin sharing.

Or the family room. This room actually consists of two separate rooms, twin beds for the kids and if you notice in between the beds there's an open door...

This door leads to a private bedroom for the parents to retire at night. Cosy, right?

Triple room (just in case you're traveling in groups of threes).

Oh, I almost forgot, the bathroom.

And these are the facilities provided by the hotel:

Free wifi. This is a must for me every time before I book a room at any hotel, I'd be checking to see if it provides free wifi service.

Your staple supply of soap, comb, sanitary bag and tooth brushes.

The direction of the kiblat (for solat).

Your staple supply of coffee, tea and mineral water.

And a praying mat in each room for the convenience of Muslim travelers (how thoughtful is that, right?).

Hibiscus flowers adorning the beds =).

Before we left, we met a group of students from the nearby international school enjoying their swimming lessons at the hotel pool. The squeals and shrieks of laughter almost made me want to jump into the pool myself *gosh*.

The hibiscus, the national flower of Malaysia in which the hotel is named after.

For Muslim travelers who are looking for a comfortable place to stay and easy access to halal food (and not to mention access to the pool), we'd totally recommend you for a stay here. It was a tad unfortunate for us that we didn't know of the hotel prior to leaving for Siem Reap, otherwise we would have certainly booked a room at the hotel.

About Me

I am a born and bred Sarawakian etched with bits and pieces of various world culture in me (due to my heritage and various travels). I owe my looks to the combination of Malay, English, Javanese and Chinese origin. Most people know me as an avid reader, writer, traveler and novice photographer.

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Disclaimer

This blog is a collection of my thoughts, life experiences and perceptions. It aims to spread love and happiness to its readers. If you feel otherwise or feel offended in any way, feel free to stop reading. All blogposts and photos are original materials of Fareiny Morni unless mentioned otherwise.